Scottish independence? We should be coming together, not breaking up

Nationalists are trying to be all things to all people – that is why Alex Salmond's vision of independence is so hazy

Most Scots hold dear the values of solidarity, fairness and equality but breaking up the union with England is not in those interests, says Iain Gray, leader of the Scottish Labour party Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

Rab C Nesbitt, Govan's philosopher (or rather the actor Gregor Fisher), was asked last week what he thought about Scottish independence. "I think in this day and age we should be all coming together, not splitting up," he told the newspaper Metro.

That sums up as well as anyone why Scotland should remain a part of Britain but it no doubt rankled with Scotland's other would-be philosopher king, Alex Salmond.

It also cuts to the heart of the false consensus Salmond is trying to craft for separatism. Fisher's comment demonstrates succinctly that the separatist argument is a negative one. It is about breaking up the most successful political, social and economic union in the world.

For all our current problems, the history of the UK and its benefits for Scotland, and also England, is a remarkable one, and yet Scotland's identity has not been diminished by it either culturally or socially.

But the politics of most Scots, and I am one of them, are not defined by national identity but progressive values of fairness, solidarity and equality.

That is not the case with the nationalists. Alex Salmond told the Guardian on Tuesday that England is a great country, yet when he saw the August riots his first reaction was to call the BBC to demand that they be characterised on TV as "English" riots. A progressive leader would have felt empathy first for those communities under siege, and schadenfreude not at all.

This is the contradiction for the nationalists. They try to be all things to all people. Electorally it suits Alex Salmond for the SNP to be perceived as centre-left or social democratic while he avidly courts rich men such as Donald Trump and bus tycoon Sir Brian Souter.

Yet many on the left in Scotland such as AL Kennedy in the Guardian have bought into this "social democratic shtick". No doubt they are disillusioned and disappointed by more than a decade of Labour government – and we have to take responsibility for that.

But I would challenge them to scrutinise the SNP's key policies. An underfunded council tax freeze is a regressive policy which Simon Jenkins pungently summed up as "letting the rich get away with fiscal murder". As for wanting to cut corporation tax, that is nothing but a sop to big business.

Alex Salmond's administration is less a government and more a marketing campaign to win the referendum, cherry-picking polices where they can to appeal to right or left without a coherent strategy for social change and progress.

Salmond himself cites three tests by which he should be judged. First, he claims to have established competence in his first term. Yet flagship policies such as the local income tax were abandoned, PFI reintroduced in a renamed form, and teachers and nurse numbers slashed even as budgets continued to rise pre-recession.

His second test is solving Scotland's deep-seated problems such as sectarianism and alcohol. In fact, he derided sectarianism as an issue for four years, before launching a media bandwagon after an Old Firm incident only to produce legislation which has been described as the worst ever presented to the Scottish parliament. He refused to build consensus on minimum pricing of alcohol, and would not even debate the measure's legality.

His third test of ambition is too often addressed by hyperbole rather than vision. Alex Salmond describes his own renewable energy vision as "the greatest leap forward since the transition from hunter-gatherer to agriculture 10,000 years ago". Yet last year, Scotland generated less renewable electricity than the year before. Even the industry describes his plans as "heroic". In recent weeks he has hailed the success of his own economic "plan MacB". Yet the truth is Scotland's growth trails the rest of the UK. To say this is derided as negativity by a first minister who clearly believes you can create progress simply by asserting it.

After almost five years in power Alex Salmond's vision of an independent Scotland remains hazy. He cannot tell us when his referendum will be, what the question is, what currency we will have, how we will be defended. It would appear we will have Nordic social democracy and low tax rates.

Even Rab C Nesbitt knows you can't have both. So does Scotland. That is why most Scots want a strong Scottish parliament in a devolved United Kingdom.